500 Nouveaux Zaïres

By 1994, the Banque du Zaïre was printing money in a state of near-total institutional collapse. Mobutu's government had been financing deficits through the press for years, and annual inflation had exceeded 9,000% in 1994 alone. The "nouveaux zaïres" redenomination of 1993 — replacing old zaïres at 3,000,000 to 1 — bought almost no time. Notes of this denomination lost practical value within weeks of issue.

The P#64A designation distinguishes a signature variety within the series. Zaïre notes of this period frequently appear with paper fatigue and heavy handling damage, a direct consequence of hyperinflation forcing high-denomination notes into daily retail use at a furious velocity.